The Outcomes of Physical Punishment are Typical of All Corrective Actions: A Response to Heilmann et al's (2021) Narrative Review

The reputation of psychological science depends on the adequacy of the science underlying its policy recommendations. This commentary raises concerns about the science used by Heilman et al. (2021) in their recent narrative (not meta-analytic) review that encourages spanking bans worldwide. By reviewing controlled longitudinal studies, Heilmann et al. provided stronger causal evidence than the two meta-analyses of unadjusted correlations most frequently cited to support spanking bans. However, the two previously published meta-analyses of controlled longitudinal studies of spanking do not support spanking bans, due to the trivial size of the average adverse-looking effect of customary spanking in those studies. Moreover, several lines of evidence indicate that this trivial average effect is likely due to inadequate statistical controls rather than an actual adverse causal effect of typical spanking. We need stronger causal evidence for policy recommendations for both the welfare of children and the reputation of psychological science.

PEMBARUAN ISLAM BIDANG KELUARGA : RELEVANSI DAN SOLUSI TERHADAP PERSOALAN NUSYUZ

Before the arrival of Islam, Arab society was a society that was far from being orderly and according to norms. Customs, morals and life rules adopted are habits that have existed for a long time and are adopted as habits and beliefs. In a society that is oriented towards human values, Islam comes with a concept that forms the order of pre-Islamic Arab society in a relatively precise manner. Islam as a religion changes several aspects of society, one of which is in the family. One of the discussions in the family field is the remaining settlement of nusyuz in Islam where nusyuz is a disobedient attitude between husband or wife. This type of writing is a literature study, namely a study in which data collection is obtained from various scientific literacy such as books, journals, articles and others. The data of this study consisted of secondary and primary data with qualitative methods. The findings resulted that the offer of another Qur'an was first, offering advice to the wife in a ma'ruf or good way which aims to awaken the wife from her wrong actions. Second, as a psychological punishment for the wife and in her solitude for committing a crime against her punishment. Third, giving physical punishment to the wife. Abstrak Sebelum kedatangan Islam, masyarakat Arab merupakan masyarakat yang jauh dari kata teratur dan sesuai norma. Adat istiadat, akhlak serta peraturan hidup yang dianut merupakan kebiasaan yang telah ada sejak dahulu dan dianut sebagai kebiasaan dan keyakinan. Dalam suatu masyarakat yang cenderung mengabaikan nilai-nilai kemanusiaan, agama Islam datang dengan konsep pembaruan yang merubah tatanan masyarakat Arab pra-Islam dalam waktu yang relatif cukup simgkat. Islam sebagai agama pembaruan merubah beberapa aspek yang ada dalam masyarakat, salah satunya ialah dalam bidang keluarga. Salah satu yang menjadi pembahasan dalam bidang keluarga ialah penyelesaian nusyuz dalam Islam dimana nusyuz merupakan sikap tidak patuh antara suami atau istri. Tulisan ini berjenis kajian library research yakni sebuah kajian yang pengambilan datanya didapat dari pelbagai literasi ilmiah seperti buku, jurnal, artikel dan lainnya. Adapun data penelitian ini terdiri atas data sekunder dan primer dengan metode kualitatif. Temuan yang dihasilkan bahwasanya tawaran al-Qur’an lain Pertama, pemberian nasihat kepada istri dengan cara yang ma’ruf atau baik yang bertujuan untuk menyadarkan istri dari perbuatannya yang keliru. Kedua, sebagai hukuman psikologis bagi istri dan dalam kesendiriannya unutuk melakukan koreksi terhadap kekeliruannya. Ketiga, memberikan hukuman fisik kepada istri.

Child Domestic Work, Violence, and Health Outcomes: A Rapid Systematic Review

This rapid systematic review describes violence and health outcomes among child domestic workers (CDWs) taken from 17 studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries. Our analysis estimated the median reported rates of violence in CDWs aged 5–17-year-olds to be 56.2% (emotional; range: 13–92%), 18.9% (physical; range: 1.7–71.4%), and 2.2% (sexual; range: 0–62%). Both boys and girls reported emotional abuse and sexual violence with emotional abuse being the most common. In Ethiopia and India, violence was associated with severe physical injuries and sexual insecurity among a third to half of CDWs. CDWs in India and Togo reported lower levels of psycho-social well-being than controls. In India, physical punishment was correlated with poor psycho-social well-being of CDWs [OR: 3.6; 95% CI: 3.2–4; p < 0.0001]. Across the studies, between 7% and 68% of CDWs reported work-related illness and injuries, and one third to half had received no medical treatment. On average, children worked between 9 and 15 h per day with no rest days. Findings highlight that many CDWs are exposed to abuse and other health hazards but that conditions vary substantially by context. Because of the often-hidden nature of child domestic work, future initiatives will need to be specifically designed to reach children in private households. Young workers will also benefit from strategies to change social norms around the value and vulnerability of children in domestic work and the long-term implications of harm during childhood.

PROTECTING THE VULNERABLE IN SOUTH AFRICA: PROHIBITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN THE PRIVATE SPHERE

On 18 September 2019, the Constitutional Court confirmed that the common-law defence of “reasonable and moderate chastisement” is unconstitutional as it unjustifiably violates sections 10 and 12(1)(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. As a result, parents are no longer permitted to punish their child at home by way of inflicting physical punishment behind a facade of discipline. Despite the aforesaid, it should be noted that corporal punishment in the private sphere is not explicitly prohibited by South African legislation. In addition, South Africa’s legislative system lacks an appropriate regulatory framework to administer the anticipated proliferation of assault cases against parents. It is against this backdrop that this article first analyses the current legislative framework regulating the protection of children from physical punishment, and then follows with a succinct overview of the Constitutional Court ruling. The article assesses whether the mere repeal of the common-law defence of “reasonable and moderate” chastisement will be sufficient to eradicate corporal punishment in the private sphere, and if not, whether legislative prohibition and/or other interceding strategies will be required to give effect to the objective of the Constitutional Court ruling. In this regard, by way of comparative research, the legislative framework adopted by Sweden, being the first country in the world to prohibit all forms of corporate punishment of children is evaluated. Lastly, recommendations are made for the incorporation of practical steps, including possible legislative measures, to establish a regulatory framework from a children’s rights perspective to prohibit corporal punishment in the private sphere. Accordingly, for purposes of analysis and consideration, a qualitative approach is applied for purposes of the research. Primary sources such as the Constitution, case law, legislation, governmental documents, statistical data and research reports are consulted in conjunction with journal articles and textbooks.

Slavery versus Labor

Slavery has been a long-lasting and often endemic problem across time and space, and has commonly coexisted with a free-labor market. To understand (and possibly eradicate) slavery, one needs to unpack its relationship with free labor. Under what conditions would a principal choose to buy a slave rather than to hire a free worker? First, slaves cannot leave at will, which reduces turnover costs; second, slaves can be subjected to physical punishments, which reduces enforcement costs. In complex tasks, relation-specific investments are responsible for high turnover costs, which makes principals prefer slaves over workers. At the other end of the spectrum, in simple tasks, the threat of physical punishment is a relatively cheap way to produce incentives as compared to rewards, because effort is easy to monitor, which again makes slaves the cheaper alternative. The resulting equilibrium price in the market for slaves affects demand in the labor market and induces principals to hire workers for tasks of intermediate complexity. The available historical evidence is consistent with this pattern. Our analysis sheds light on cross-society differences in the use of slaves, on diachronic trends, and on the effects of current anti-slavery policies.

Co-occurring violent discipline of children and intimate partner violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean: a systematic search and secondary analysis of national datasets

IntroductionIntersections between violent discipline (physical punishment and/or verbal aggression) of children and intimate partner violence (IPV) against women have received growing international attention. This study aimed to determine how many Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries had national data on co-occurring IPV and violent discipline in the same household, how estimates compared and whether violent discipline was significantly associated with IPV.MethodsA systematic search (following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines) was used to identify which LAC countries had eligible, national co-occurrence data. The most recent eligible dataset in each country was obtained and reanalysed for comparability. Standardised national estimates were produced for prevalence of violent discipline, physical and/or sexual IPV and co-occurrence among ever partnered women of reproductive age living with a child aged 1–14. Bivariate analyses and logistic regressions produced levels and odds ratios (ORs) of physical punishment and verbal aggression in households affected by IPV (past year and before past year) compared with never, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsNine countries had eligible datasets. Co-occurring physical punishment with past year IPV ranged from 1.7% (Nicaragua) to 17.5% (Bolivia); and with IPV ever from 6.0% (Nicaragua) to 21.2% (Haiti). In almost all countries, children in IPV affected households experienced significantly higher levels and ORs of physical punishment and verbal aggression, whether IPV occurred during or before the past year. Significant adjusted ORs of physical punishment ranged from 1.52 (95% CI 1.11 to 2.10) in Jamaica to 3.63 (95% CI 3.26 to 4.05) in Mexico for past year IPV; and from 1.50 (95% CI 1.23 to 1.83) in Nicaragua to 2.52 (95% CI 2.30 to 2.77) in Mexico for IPV before past year.ConclusionsIPV is a significant risk factor for violent discipline, but few national surveys in LAC measure both. Co-occurrence merits greater attention from policymakers and researchers.

Adverse Childhood Experiences: Are They Associated With Greater Risk of Elder Abuse Victimization?

Though a growing number of studies have examined the associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and negative later-life health outcomes, the effects of these early life-course factors on elder abuse victimization have yet to be fully investigated. Using a life-course perspective, this study examines the associations between ACEs and elder abuse victimization. We used data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in Beijing, China. A total of 1,002 older adults were included in this study. Retrospective self-report items were used to measure ACEs and elder abuse victimization in later life. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to examine the associations between ACEs and elder abuse victimization. Five types of ACEs (i.e., socio-economic difficulty of the original family, parental divorce, frequent quarrels between parents, frequent physical punishment by parents, and starvation) were associated with a higher risk of elder abuse victimization. After controlling for participants’ socio-demographic characteristics and adding these five types of ACEs simultaneously in the multivariate regression model, the poor socio-economic status of the original family (OR = 1.759, p < .05) and suffering frequent physical punishment inflicted by parents (OR = 2.288, p < .05) were found to be significantly associated with elder abuse victimization. To have multiple (at least 4) ACEs is a risk factor for elder abuse victimization as well (OR = 3.06, p < .001). This study provides evidence for ACEs as risk factors for elder abuse victimization. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening our understanding of the impacts of ACEs in both research and practice.

Children’s Motivation to Learn at Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights From Indian Parents

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions children worldwide to learn at home. Recent reports showed that this had a negative impact on children’s motivation to learn. The current study investigated what factors were associated with a child’s motivation during the pandemic and how parents motivated their children to learn at home. A total of 1,041 parents from India filled out a close-ended survey to help shed light on the issues. The results confirmed that children in India were significantly less motivated to learn during (vs before) the pandemic and revealed that a child’s motivation to learn at home was associated with multiple factors, such as household income, parents’ employment status, child’s academic achievement, and parent’s enjoyment in homeschooling. In contrast, the availability and usage of various technological resources bore no relation to a child’s motivation. Finally, the current data showed that Indian parents most frequently used TV time, words of encouragement, and play/game time as motivators; the least popular motivators were money, new toys, and physical punishment. Exploratory analyses showed that a child’s motivation to learn tended to be lower when parents used more physical punishment to “motivate” their children. These findings were discussed in relation to public/education policies.